August Update
Welcome Back...Almost!
A Note from Mrs. Pitts
Dear Rye Elementary Family,
Welcome to the 2025-2026 school year at Rye Elementary School! We are looking forward to another great year and we know that this greatness comes from the connections we have between school and home. Please know that we are ready, once again, to put everything we have into making this an amazing year for our students, our staff, our families and our community. If you ever have any questions, please reach out to us and we can connect about ways we can help and support you.
The building looks beautiful and we thank our incredible custodial team, Matt Krol, Bill Bonacci, Jim Gordon and Brian Helfrich for their hard work over the summer. In addition, we are so thankful for Staci Ryan, who works all summer to make sure students and staff can start the year off successfully! Lastly, we must thank Officer J9 who assembled ALL of our new library furniture and as much of the teachers' classroom items as she could. This was a HUGE help for us! As the summer winds down, Ms. Staci, Ms. Shari and I will be here in the office ready to welcome any questions and guide you through the first days of school.
I wanted to make sure this letter had just enough information that you could start the year off confidently. We look forward to seeing your child/children soon for the start of another successful school year. We hope you enjoy these last weeks of summer!
Sincerely,
Michelle Pitts, Principal
August 18:
New Student Orientation: 2:00-2:45 PM for all NEW students in GRADES 1-4 only
August 28:
Preschool and PreK Orientation 1:15-1:45 PM
- Kindergarten Orientation for Families and Students: 1:45-2:30 PM
- First Grade Meet and Greet: 2:30-3:00 PM
September 2:
First Day of School: Start time is 8:20 AM! Students can arrive as early as 8:05 AM.
October 9:
Open House/Curriculum Night: Grades K thru 4 from 6:00-7:00 p.m.
STAFF SLIDESHOW
We want to share this slideshow with pictures and information about ALL of our RES staff! This will help you put names to faces and bring us closer as a community so you know who is working with your child(ren). I will edit this document throughout the year if there are any changes. Enjoy!
NEW STAFF
We would like to welcome Justin Svirsky (4th Grade Teacher), Marisa Barach (Special Education Teacher), Chelsea McCormick (Paraprofessional), and Mike Kopp (Paraprofessional). We are so lucky to have them on our team!
This week you will receive your child’s placement for the school year. Please know that these placements are final and cannot be adjusted due to the effort and consideration given to the creation of each class last spring. We did ask for any extenuating circumstances to be emailed by April, before placement began, and those have all been considered. We have confidence that our students will have an incredible school year with the support of all the RES staff!
Note: There are no formal supply lists but if teachers are seeking optional donations, they will note that in the summer letter this week.
DROP OFF:
The school day begins and attendance is taken at 8:20 am. You may drop your child off as early as 8:05 am, but not before this time, as there will be no adult supervision until 8:05 am. Students in Kindergarten through 4th grade are dropped off to the left side of the school by the Tide Pool Playground. Staff will be present at this side of the building and will assist your child/children out of the cars to ensure their safety around moving vehicles. Students in our Preschool/PreK, as well as their older RES siblings, may be dropped off at the front door. Staff will also be present here to support your child out of the car. Please note that if a child arrives after 8:20 am, they are considered tardy and an adult must walk the child in and sign them in at the office.
Bikers: If bikers arrive early, please ask them to stand by the bike racks until a staff member is outside. Once off the main road, students should walk their bike single file staying on the Lang Field/Playground side of the road beginning at Sagamore Road.
PICK UP:
We begin our dismissal process between 2:45 pm and 2:50 pm. If you are picking your child up in the car, please proceed to the left side of the building near the Tide Pool playground. We have three lanes for pickup and you will find the line begins early! When students are dismissed for pickup, designated staff will bring your child to the car. In order to help expedite the pick-up process, please write your LAST NAME ONLY in LARGE, BLACK, BOLD print on a piece of tagboard or paper and have it prominently displayed in your front windshield. If someone else is picking up your child, please have them follow the same protocol. We also ask that no one exit their car during this time. Our staff will help children walk through the cars and get safely inside. There is still some more time this summer for our younger students to practice buckling, but if you do need to assist your child, please pull ahead to the fence so we can keep the lines moving. Thank you for your support of these procedures.
BUSES: Bus transportation to and from school is provided free of charge to all RES students. Bus schedules will be posted on our RES website.
CHANGE OF DISMISSAL:
If, for some reason, you need to change the way your child is typically dismissed from school, you must send a written note to school with your child the morning of the change. In cases of emergency only, you must email the school office at resoffice@sau50.com. Please do not consider that confirmed until you receive an email back from us. All changes must be made prior to 2:00 PM so we can have the smoothest dismissal possible unless an emergency arises.
ABSENCES:
We understand that things come up and illness can happen. If your child is not going to be in school on a particular day, please call the office at (603) 436-4731 before 8:15 am so we can make sure our attendance is accurate.
Click here for the policy: JH: Attendance, Absenteeism, and Truancy.
I will send the RES Reporter, a family newsletter filled with important information, links, dates and news, every Thursday afternoon. This is our RES community newsletter so it will be a joint effort from various stakeholders. We hope that having an abundance of information in one place once a week is helpful. However, please email me if there is any way we can improve communication as we proceed through the school year. This letter is intended to provide details for the school opening but the first RES Reporter will be sent shortly after the start of school with more detailed information about the upcoming year.
The price for lunch is $2.95 and milk is $.50. Milk may be purchased separately and chocolate milk is available. Please talk with your child about which milk they should purchase. All money should be sent in a sealed envelope marked with your child’s full name and homeroom, or you can pay online via the following link: www.payschoolscentral.com. You can find this link and more information about our school lunch program and menus on our school website. Your child can also bring a lunch from home.
We hope you had a good summer! The Rye After School Enrichment (ASE) program session 1 information can be found by clicking this link:
https://ryeasesession1-2025.cheddarup.com
ASE Session 1: September 8th to October 31st
Sign-ups START at 6pm on Sunday, August 17th
Please register by September 3rd.
After September 3rd you will be charged a $10.00 late registration fee.
Classes are 60 min from 2:50 to 3:50 OR 90 min (if noted) from 2:50 to 4:20
NEW on Tuesdays - we offer a 30 min Kid's Club designed for siblings of children enrolled in 90 min classes so that pick-ups can be streamlined to 4:20 (you must sign up for this)
RJH kids taking ASE at RES may take the bus there!
All Classes are subject to minimum and maximum enrollment
If we do not have school, then we do not have enrichment.
Sincerely,
Rye PTA/ASE
If you have a concern, you should always start with your child’s classroom teacher. Teachers are best reached during the school day via their school email address, which can be found on our website. All other questions and concerns can be addressed with me. I can be reached through the main office phone at 603-436-4731 or via email at mpitts@sau50.org or the office can be reached as a team by emailing resoffice@sau50.org.
We're all here to help!